Web hoax: Welcome to the doll louse

MOKENA, Ill. - A suburban Chicago woman says she's sorry for an Internet hoax in which she claimed to be pregnant with a terminally ill child.

Beccah Beushausen, 26, of Mokena, posted a lengthy apology on her blog over the weekend.

She claimed for two months that she chose to carry her child to term rather than have an abortion because of her deep Christian faith. Her Web site attracted nearly a million hits.

She said she gave birth and posted photos last week, but one of her followers recognized the infant as a doll.

Beushausen says she started lying because she's struggling with unresolved pain that she couldn't handle alone, though she offered few specifics.

A woman who answered the phone yesterday at a number listed for Beushausen's mother declined comment. *